Missing In Case
by twiXlite
Summary: Ninapolitan's DILF contest entry. When Bella comes across a lost little girl separated from her daddy, can she do more than return his daughter to him? Can she help him find his strength and heart again? OOC ExB


**Ninapolitan's**

**D.I.L.F. Contest**

**Story Title: Missing in Case**

**Author: twiXlite**

**Pairing: Edward/Bella**

**Vamp or Human: Human**

Walking into the mall, I cursed Alice and her sudden lack of organisational skills. I mean, anyone who knew her knew that she would never forget to pick up the prized Gucci handbag she had been coveting ever since rumours started flying about its release.

The store she had to pick up from was on the other side of the town, which was linked by the atrocity known as the mall. I hated this place. I didn't have any good memories which tied me to the mall. When I thought of it, all I could think of was being hungry, tired, with pained feet and an excitable pixie pulling me around each and every shop.

So I avoided the place as much as possible.

Especially on a Saturday.

The place was completely heaving, people jostling and pushing each other out of the way, trying to get into whatever store they wanted to make the latest purchase that they didn't need. Why did Alice have a shoot today? Why couldn't she have come after she'd finished. Right. I remember. Because the client she had today had rearranged the shoot for today at the last minute, and she didn't know what time the shoot would be finished. In her defence though, it was a huge client for her, so she couldn't really turn it down. Her only worry was that if the bag wasn't picked up, it would be given to someone else and her money refunded. To Alice that was a fate worse than death.

Enter the best friend Bella.

I knew how important this shoot was to her, so I offered to pick up the bag. Though now, seeing the crowds confined into the small space almost made me reconsider.

Getting into the mall and out of the store with the bag was easily done, but it was now getting out of the mall itself. The place was a maze of endless stores and boutiques. How anyone could spend all day in here of their own volition was beyond me.

Sighing, I sat down on an unoccupied bench and ran my hands through my hair, flipping open my phone to contact Emmett, a close friend of Alice and I, also one of my work colleagues, relaying some information that he had been after since yesterday afternoon. It wasn't the ideal place to do it, but hey, I had nothing else going on, so I might as well do it now. Making sure that the bag was safely tucked away, I opened up a new email message and typed out the message.

Stopping to think for a second, I heard a tiny sniffling noise from close by. I looked around, seeing nothing but young, obnoxious teenagers or disgruntled, ruffled adults making their way around, trying to get in and out as fast as they could, their days clearly not going the way they wanted it to.

I heard the sound again, slightly louder this time and followed by a small whimper. I looked down behind the bench and in between the bench and the weird flower display thing that they thought looked attractive and were smart enough to put in a busy mall, was a tiny girl.

"Hey." I called softly, easing off the bench and crouching down beside her. "Hey." She looked up at me with enormous green eyes, wet and watery, tears streaking down her face. "Hey, what are you doing down here?"

"I lost my Daddy." She mumbled quietly.

"Where did he go?" I asked, my voice calm and soothing, though on the inside I was fuming. How could someone not notice that they no longer had their child beside them? I looked around and my anger eased. Actually, in this mass it was quite easy to, I guessed.

"I don't know." She shook her head, more tears falling from her eyes.

"Okay." I thought for a moment.

"My Daddy told me not to talk to strangers." She whispered, easing away from me slightly. Well, as far as she could. _Well, at least he's instilled that in her._

"Okay." I nodded, biting my lip lightly as I thought. "Do you want me to help you find your Daddy?" I asked her and she nodded, her eyes brightening a little. "Okay then. Well, I need you to come out, sweetheart, so we can find him. Because I don't know what he looks like." I hoped that would be enough to ease her out of her little hidey-hole. It worked and I managed to get her to sit on the bench with me.

"Um, I gots this, case I got lost." She held up her wrist, showing me a band that she had around her wrist.

"That's good." I smiled at her and she grinned, pleased with herself and her intuition. I looked at the band around her wrist and saw what I guessed to be her fathers' contact details in case she should become separated from him. _At least he's thought that far ahead_. I thought, typing in the number on the band. "Rats." I whispered, seeing that I had no signal in this place. I was glad that I had saved that email to Emmett, seeing as I wouldn't have been able to send it anyway. "Okay, sweetheart. I don't have any signal in here, so we're going to have to go outside, so I can call your Daddy and let him know that I've found you."

"Okay." She whispered, still looking unsure about going with me. At least she was cautious and I had no doubt that if she was scared, she would scream. That was a good thing. I stood up, grabbing Alice's prized bag along with my own and held out my hand for the little girl. "What's your name?"

"Lis'beff." I guessed she meant Elizabeth, but wasn't able to say it properly.

"Elizabeth?" I asked her and she nodded, smiling at me.

"I can't say it right." She looked down, seeming upset that she was unable to say her name.

"Don't worry about it." I pulled a tissue out of my pocket and wiped the tears that had fallen off of her cheeks. "I couldn't say my name when I was little, either."

"What's your name?" She asked, her curiosity piqued with my little admission, which was actually true. I couldn't say my full name until I was five and a half. I had been so proud of myself the first time I had said it.

"Isabella." I told her and she smiled. "But I like people to call me Bella. It's easier to say."

"Bella." She repeated, testing out my name before smiling.

"Okay, then." I stood up and held out my hand for her to take, which she did slowly, looking up at me with a looked of anxiety and curiosity. "We'll go outside and we'll find your Daddy. I bet he's worried about you." She nodded as we walked along, watching around, obviously looking for her father, chewing on her knuckle gently.

Surprising even myself, I found the way out of the mall pretty quickly and was glad to find that it was the side with my truck parked outside. I walked over to my truck and pulled the back down, picking her up and setting her on the bed of the truck, making sure she was out of the way.

I looked down at the band she had on her wrist, entering the cell number written on it, pressing the call button. It rang four times before it was picked up.

"Hello?" The man on the other end sounded out of breath and frantic.

"Hello?" I repeated slowly, cautiously, looking at the band for her father's name. "Is this Edward Cullen I'm speaking to?"

"Yes."

"I have your daughter with me." I said cautiously and heard a quick breath of air come from the other side.

"You have Elizabeth?" He sounded relieved and even more frantic at the same time. "Is she there? Is she okay? What-"

"She's fine." I cut him off or I knew the questions wouldn't stop. "She's just a little scared and wants her Daddy." She looked at me and nodded, her eyes wide.

"Where are you?" He asked impatiently. I could understand his fear. His daughter was missing and he had a strange woman on the phone telling him that she had her. He had to be going out of his mind.

"I'm at the south entrance of the mall. We're at my truck. It's the black Toyota Tundra."

"I'll be there in a minute." And he hung up. I pressed the end call on my phone and turned to face Elizabeth.

"He's going to be here in a minute, okay?" I gently ran my fingers through her hair, wiping her cheeks with the tissue again, clearing away the new frightened tears that were falling. "Hey, sweetheart, what's wrong?"

"Daddy's going be mad." She whispered.

"No." I shook my head, looking straight into her eyes. "No, he won't be mad. He's just worried about you. I bet that the first thing he does is wrap his arms around you in great big hug."

"Really?" She didn't sound believing. I wondered what kind of father this man was.

"Really really." I replied, nodding. "If he does, then I'll buy you a lolly pop, alright?" She smiled and nodded at me enthusiastically. "Why do you think he'll be mad at you, honey?"

"'cause I walked off and didn't tell him." She admitted, looking down at her hands. "I fought he was wiff me."

"He's not going to be mad with you." I told her in a soft calm voice, gently running the tips of my fingers through her odd coloured hair. It was mostly brown, but had streaks of red that appeared haphazardly when she moved her head.

"Elizabeth!" I turned as I heard the frantic cry, seeing a man running towards us at a speed I didn't think possible for a human being.

"Daddy!" She tried to jump down but I stopped her knowing that if she did she could really hurt herself. The bed of the truck wasn't that close to the ground.

Before I could lift her out of the truck, he was there, his arms around her, clutching her as close to him as he possibly could. I couldn't help but smile as I leaned on my truck watching as he turned in slow circles, holding her close to him.

He knelt down, placing her on the ground, keeping her locked in his embrace as he looked up at me. "Thank you." He whispered, softly, pressing kisses into his daughters hair. "Thank you so much."

"Don't worry about it." I shook my head, moving and sitting on the bed of my truck next to where Elizabeth had been moments before. "I couldn't leave her there."

"God." He whispered, standing up straight again, still clutching her to him. I nodded for him to sit down next to me and he did, sitting her on his lap as she clutched onto the front of his shirt with her tiny little hands, clinging to him and he was her. "I told you we'd go into the Disney Store _after_ we'd met Uncle Em." His tone was angry or condescending. It was that of a worried parent. I had heard that enough coming from my father when I'd hurt myself. Which was often.

"I'm sorry, Daddy." I heard a small mumble come from his chest and I smiled.

"Sshh, baby." He whispered and I passed him a tissue, which he took gratefully, wiping her eyes. "It's alright. It's okay." He took a deep, shuddering breath. "Never do that to me again. Okay? Never." She nodded and he pressed a kiss to her forehead. His eyes were watering when he turned to look at me. "Thank you. Thank you so much." I shook my head, telling him not to worry about it. "No, really. I was going out of my mind. When went to take her hand and she wasn't there . . . I've never been so scared in all my life."

"I can tell." I whispered and he smiled, appreciatively. "She's beautiful."

He nodded, resting his cheek on her head.

I took this time to look him over and saw that he was really rather attractive. He was tall, that much was clear, even though he was sitting down at the moment. Probably about six foot tall. He was fairly built; his muscles clear through his t-shirt, which hugged him in all the right places, I might add. His hair was the same odd colour as Elizabeth's, indicating where she got it from, but his was redder than hers was, the red evident all the time. His on the other hand, seemed to turn a goldish colour when the light hit it right. Which was extremely odd, if you ask me. It was clear that this was his natural colour, because no hairdresser, no matter how skilled or experienced, could achieve a colour like that.

His jaw and cheekbones were clearly defined, strong and masculine. His nose perfectly straight and in proportion with his face. His lips were full and pouty, but in a way that was definitely not feminine at all. In actual fact, I couldn't help wondering if they were as soft as they looked, which was definitely wrong of me, because he had just gotten over a major panic over losing his daughter.

When he looked at me, I noticed that his eyes were a gorgeous emerald green. The most enchanting shade of green that I had ever seen. And they were duplicated in his daughter as well.

"Thank you, again." He whispered gently and I smiled at him, being torn away from my mental appraising of him. Even his voice was beautiful. Like liquid velvet being manipulated over my skin and I had to fight a shiver at the sound, knowing that it would look strange in the middle of summer. I was wrong. This man was not attractive. He was frickin' beautiful. "Is there anything I can do to repay you?"

"What?" I asked, confused. "No." I shook my head, quickly. Too quickly. Once I stopped, I swear my brain was still going. He raised his eyebrows at me and I crossed my arms over my chest. I could have sworn I saw his eyes flick down to my chest, but it was so fleeting that I couldn't be sure of it. "I don't want anything. I didn't do it for some reward or whatever. I did it to get a little girl back to her Daddy. And I did that. Now, seeing her back with her Daddy is reward enough for me. Sounds cliché or whatever but it's true."

"Are you sure?" He was really pushing this, wasn't he? "I mean, you've taken time out of your day for us. I'm sure that there were things you had to do."

"Nope." I replied, smiling smugly at him, popping the 'p' on the end of the word. "I had to come here to pick something up, I've got it and was just about to plan my escape route through the mall when I found Elizabeth. I was on my way home. Didn't stop me from doing anything."

"But-" I held up a hand cutting him off.

"Are you always this stubborn?" I asked sighing.

"Are you?" He fired back and I couldn't help but smile.

"Yes." I nodded, grinning at him. "I am and always have been stubborn. Just ask anyone I grew up with. They hated it."

"I'm sure they did." He nodded, looking down at his daughter, who was now fast asleep in his arms. The love in his eyes was palpable. I could see how much this one little girl meant to him. "Anything." He looked back up at me and I shook my head.

"I don't want anything." I assured him, jumping down from the bed of my truck. "Wait here a second." I held up a finger and darted away from a very confused Edward Cullen, holding his daughter close to him.

I found the closest sweetshop I could and bought three lollies. One pink, one blue and one green. I dashed back outside, to find him still sitting on my truck, clearly confused.

"I kind of owe her one." I told him, tucking the pink lolly into the pocket of her jacket. He chuckled at me and I looked up at him. "She is allowed, isn't she?"

"Yeah." He nodded, his eyes never leaving my face as I secured the lolly in her pocket and jumped back up into the bed of the truck.

"Here." I handed him the green one and he took it slightly confused. "You look like you could use some sugar. And they taste good." I unwrapped the blue one and popped it into my mouth, smiling as he did the same with the green one.

"Thanks." He gestured to the lolly and I nodded, waving a dismissing hand.

I sighed, looking down at Elizabeth. She looked so peaceful. She must have been exhausted after the exciting events of the day. "Looks like you should get her home."

He looked down at her and nodded, slowly, looking . . . disappointed? No. He couldn't be disappointed. What did he have to be disappointed about? He had his daughter back, safe and sound. He should be the happiest guy in the world right about now. "I guess I should." He whispered softly, looking up at me. "Thank you, for everything today . . ."

"Bella." I held out my hand and he took it gently. As soon as our skin touched, it felt like there was an electrical current flowing between us. From the surprise in his eyes, I know that he felt it too as he looked up at me.

"Edward." He said softly, a small smile on his face.

He slowly climbed off of the truck, cradling his daughter in his arms as he gave me one last smile and headed towards his own car. A silver Volvo, parked not too far away from my truck. I couldn't help but smile as I too, climbed off of the truck, put the back up, grabbed the bags out of it and made my way around to the driver's side, all the while watching Edward out the corner of my eye.

I smiled to myself as I started the engine and pulled out, watching in my rear-view mirror as he straightened up and watched me go, a sad smile on his face. Why did I feel like something had evaded me today? Like I had missed out on an opportunity of some sorts.

The drive home was short and uneventful, but I was met with an excited Alice as soon as I opened the door. She stood there bouncing up and down, squealing as I handed her the bag containing her brand new Gucci bag.

Though, for all her excitement over her new accessory, she noticed that my mind was elsewhere and commented on it. I knew that she wouldn't let up until I told her what was going through my mind, so I told her. I told her everything from the circus that was the mall – to which she waved me off saying that it sounded like nothing compared to some of the fiasco's that she'd had to deal with shopping and in her eyes it made it more fun – to finding Elizabeth behind the bench, crying her little heart out – to which she reacted the way I thought she would. She, like me when I first found her, couldn't understand how a parent could lose their child. I explained that it seemed relatively easy considering the amount of people in the mall – to calling Edward and his reaction to me finding her – which seemed to soften Alice a little. Hearing how distraught he was about his missing child and the relief and love he exuded upon having her back in his arms – to how strange I felt driving out of the parking lot, seeing him watching me go.

"Don't you see, Bella?" She asked as though it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"What?" I asked, clearly confused. She rolled her eyes and sighed at my clear ignorance of the situation.

"When he was asking if you wanted something for your time, it seems to me that he wasn't offering to pay you." She hinted raising her eyebrows. "It's quite possible that he was offering to take you out."

"What?!" I felt my eyes widen at her assumption. "Alice, don't be ridiculous. He was just grateful for me finding his daughter. He's probably married anyway."

"Maybe, maybe not." She answered cryptically. "Was he wearing a ring?"

"I don't know." I shook my head. "I didn't really pay attention to that much." _Maybe I should have, though._

"Idiot." She mumbled, earning a slap on the arm from me. "Anyway, I told you it would be worth your while picking up my bag for me."

"Uh-huh." I nodded, clearly not reciprocating her feelings of smugness. "Maybe, maybe not." I repeated her earlier phrase. "Anyway, it's not like I'm ever going to see him again."

"You never know."

"Okay, enough with the cryptic." I moaned, hitting her with a pillow and she laughed at me, swatting it away. "What was that supposed to mean?"

"Well, maybe today was the first meeting of many to come." She replied, sounding more confusing than ever. "You've got his number, right?" She asked, her eyes narrowing. I raised an eyebrow, wondering where the hell she got that assumption from. "When you called it?"

"Oh, yeah." I remembered and picked up my phone, clicking into the recent contacts and sure enough, his number was there, the first one on the list. "Would it be weird if I saved it?" I asked.

"Not if I'm right." She answered lightly, getting off the sofa and dancing across the room. "And when have I ever been wrong." It was a rhetorical question but I knew the answer. Never. Alice was never wrong. About anything and it bugged me no end.

I bit my lip, before pressing the save button and typing _Edward_ in the name slot before saving the number to my phone. Was that weird? I don't know, but I wasn't really going to go talking about it to anyone, was I?

I froze as a thought hit me from left field. If I had his number through calling him, he had mine in his received calls. We had each other's numbers, so there may not be any reason at all for losing any contact with him. But it would be weird if I phoned him right? I could always pretend that I was wondering about Elizabeth and realised I had his number in my outgoing calls. Talk about Elizabeth with him. I flopped back on my bed, feeling like an absolute stalker.

I made a decision then. If he decided he wanted to contact me, then I would reciprocate, but I wasn't going to be the initiator. For all I knew, he was happily married and offering something as a thank you for finding his daughter for him, like I'd told Alice.

I could hold off, couldn't I?

Sunday passed excruciatingly slowly and I found myself running out of things to do. I was trying to distract myself from thinking about Edward by doing menial tasks like cleaning, laundry and things like that but it didn't seem to be working. I was so glad that the weekend was nearly over. I would be back at work and distracted from Edward. Emmett and I had a new client to work with, so that would make the day pass more quickly.

I woke up on Monday, feeling groggy and tired. I didn't really sleep at all, except for maybe an hour or two here or there, but other than that, nada.

Running through my normal morning routine I showered, dressed – in what Alice told me to, of course – and grabbed the cup of coffee she always had prepared for me in one of those portable, thick plastic cups with lids. Whoever invented those needed a huge pat on the back because I love them. It made it so I didn't have to rush through my morning coffee, but could drink on the way into work.

I pulled into the employee parking lot, taking a quick scan of the visitors lot as I drove past it. There wasn't anyone parked in there, so I guessed that it wasn't a 9AM meeting with our new client. Emmett really should have told me what time it was. Actually, I think he did. Maybe I forgot because of all the Edward fantasising I've been doing all weekend. _Ah . . . Edward . . . stop it!_ I shook my head, trying to clear it as I parked in my regular spot and climbed out of my truck.

I pressed the elevator button and was thankful that I didn't have to wait for ages for it to turn up. I stepped inside and pressed the button for floor 14, the floor that held the _Swan McCarty Law Firm_. And we were doing pretty damned well, thank you very much.

"Hold it, Bella." I hear someone shouting my name so I put my hand in front of the closing doors, activating the sensors and causing them to open again. "Thanks."

"No problem, Mike." I smiled shortly, not really giving him an opening. Blonde haired, blue-eyed Mike, who even though he was in his late twenties, still retained most of his baby fat. A lot of girls thought it was endearing. I on the other hand, did not. No matter how many times he asked me out.

"Did you have a good weekend?" He asked, smiling at me, his grin a little too wide and . . . leery, for my liking. Thank god he got off before me and didn't know what floor I worked on. I was also grateful that the buttons on the wall didn't light up apart from the first five seconds after you hit it.

"Fine." I answered shortly, not looking at him.

"What did you do?" He asked, turning to face me, causing me to roll my eyes, sighing.

"Look, Mike, we do the same thing every Monday morning. You ask me how my weekend was, I say 'fine' and then you proceed to ask me out, to which I always answer 'no'. Why do that every week? I'm telling you once and for all, Mike, I'm not going to go out with you." Okay, that might have been a little harsh, but the guy has been doing this ever since Emmett and I arrived in the building. I just hated that Emmett always got here before I did, though he did once offer to go down to Mike's floor and make sure that he got the hint. I declined that offer. It wasn't needed.

Thankfully for me, we were now on the sixth floor, which evidently was Mike's. He got off without looking at me and I wanted to feel bad, but I really didn't. He would probably just go and forget his 'pain' with one of his office whores. He had a few of them.

When the elevator finally made it to the fourteenth floor, I quickly got out and made my way to my office. I grinned and waved at Emmett who was sitting at his office on the phone. I unlocked my office door, turned the lights on and started up my computer before setting my coffee down and flipping through the folder of a case I'd been working on for a few weeks now. It was a divorce settlement and the two of them were just throwing things back and forth. Neither could agree on anything. Yeah, I know I'm a lawyer and am getting paid by the hour for this shit, but come on, you've got to have some basis of an agreement. It can't be good for their three kids either. At six, eight and twelve, the three of them aren't going to be forgetting the little war between Mommy and Daddy anytime soon.

"Hey, Bells." Emmett poked his head around the corner, grinning at me like the fool he was.

"Hey, Em." I grinned back, taking a gulp of my coffee. "How was the weekend?"

"It was good." He made his way over to my desk and flopped down in the large chair across from my own extravagant one. After our fourth year of success we'd decided that we deserved a little treat so we splurged on some expensive chairs. We hadn't really bought anything else for ourselves when it came to the office, but this was a treat for the both of us, so we let it go. "My brother had a bit of an episode with his little girl on Saturday, though."

"What happened?" I asked, concerned. After the weekend I'd had, I needed something else to talk about.

"Oh, his little girl ran off in the mall and he freaked, as any father would." He explained and I froze, slightly stunned. "Thankfully, a girl called him and told him that she had her. I don't think he'd ever been so close to a coronary in his life. And he's been around enough of them."

"Emmett, correct me if I'm wrong – and I hope I am – but is your brother called Edward?" I asked cautiously, worrying slightly when he sat up. Emmett and I didn't really talk about families. He had been adopted as a young child after being abused by his biological parents and he felt that his adopted siblings stories weren't his to tell, so he never did. I myself had been left with only my father when I was younger, my mother deciding that she'd had enough of being a mother and finding the nearest piece of ass she could. I hadn't seen or heard from her since that day when I was three years old. I don't even remember her.

"How do you know that?" He asked, his voice wary and his eyes narrowing.

"And his little girl is called Elizabeth." I stated and he nodded, his eyes still wary of where I was going with this. "Emmett, the girl that found Elizabeth. That was me."

"You?" His eyes grew wide and a grin lit up his face as I nodded.

"I was in the mall, I'd sat down after finding Alice's bag – you know the one she's been harping on about for months – and I heard this sniffing and whimpering and there she is, sitting there crying. I asked her what was wrong, and she told me that she'd lost her Daddy, so I took her outside, where it was less crowded and called him. He found us and that was it." I explained and he got a mischievous glint in his eye. "Okay, I see the wheels turning in your evil little head. What are you thinking?"

"Nothing." He mused, looking down at the papers on my desk.

"Now _that_ doesn't surprise me." I muttered, earning a mock glare from him.

"Bells, Edward hasn't been able to stop going on about the girl he'd met at the weekend. The girl who'd found his daughter and returned her to him." He grinned at me. "He's smitten, Bells."

"I doubt that, Emmett." I rolled my eyes and he chuckled, muttering something about being ignorant and stubborn. I wasn't about to argue with him on that one. I was stubborn. I wasn't sure about the ignorant part – okay, maybe on _some_ things, yes, but not all the time .

"Come on." He stood up, glancing at his watch. "We've got that meeting with our new client in two minutes." He declared walking out of the room. I scowled at him, standing up, grabbing my coffee. All the papers were in Emmett's office, so I waited for him outside as he bustled around, trying to tidy his desk up, before meeting me and we walked down to the small, yet still spacious board room we had at the end of the corridor.

"So, what's the basis of this case?" I knew that I should have had more information on the case, but I had been so tied up with that damn divorce that I hadn't been able to look it over. I had my own set of papers for it at home, but they had been untouched, which was pretty irresponsible of me, but I learned and retained information quickly, so I didn't doubt that I would be able to catch up.

"Well, this couple has been divorced for three years. There's a four year old involved, which makes things more complicated." He opened the folder, yet didn't look at it. He must have read it over and over again to know what was happening without glancing down even once. "The mom took off one day, leaving nothing but a note, saying that she didn't want to be a mother and a wife anymore." _That_ hit a nerve, because it was exactly the same thing that Renee had done to my father and I. No word of warning. Just a post-it on the fridge door. "I saw the husband through the initial divorce, making things as easy and quick as possible, gaining him full custody of the child et cetera." I nodded for him to carry on. "And nobody has heard from little miss wifey since. Until now. She's back and she wants the kid, apparently." I swear, my jaw just hit the floor. "I know, right? Anyway, she's come back after three years, claiming that she's missed her child, but doesn't want to get back into a relationship with her ex-husband, which is understandable." I nodded. It was understandable. Sometimes there are places you just can't go back to. "But she wants full custody. He's fighting her tooth and nail on this because his daughter is the only thing he has really and he's not going to make it easy. That's pretty much it."

"Well, I don't think that she really has a chance of getting the child." I answered him and he nodded. "I mean, I think she has a chance of getting supervised visitation, but not full custody. Considering the circumstances of which she left, she's not got a chance. Who're her lawyers."

"Stanley&Wilcox." He replied and I groaned. Jessica Stanley and James Wilcox were the slimiest lawyers in town. They would stoop to any low to get what they want and this wasn't the first time we'd gone head to head with them. The last couple of times we'd come up against them, they'd lost and I hoped we could keep that winning streak alive. "I know."

"I hate the idea of them being in our building." I moaned and Emmett nodded. Unfortunately, today's meeting was going to be an all out meeting to lay the groundwork before going before the judge, because this is a case that would be going before a judge, especially since it centered around a small child. We didn't have to deal with them for another hour, so that made me feel a little better.

There was a tentative knock at the door and Emmett walked over to open it.

"Hey, Emmett." I heard a very familiar voice on the other side of the door before seeing a _very_ familiar pair of green eyes staring widely back at me. They were familiar because they had been starring in my dreams since Saturday. "Bella?"

"Edward." I wished I was actually as calm as I sounded. I really wasn't. I was freaking out.

In that same instant we both looked at Emmett and glared at him. "Emmett." We growled in unison making him flinch.

"What?" He looked around innocently. "I didn't know that you guys already knew each other. How the hell was I supposed to know? You never told me the girl's name or what she looked like, only telling me that she was sexy, intelligent and amazing," I raised my eyebrow at the words Emmett used, causing Edward to blush slightly and shrug, "so I had no basis to go on there, and I only spoke to Bella first thing this morning."

"But after you told me what had happened with your _brother_, I told you that it was me and you neglected to mention that he was the client we were seeing this morning." I placed my hands on my hips, glaring at Emmett, making him flinch. The only other one who could do that was his wife, Rosalie. I was pretty proud of myself actually. I couldn't help the smirk that passed across my face when Edward's hand flew out and smacked him across the back of the head, earning a resounding smack to echo out across the room and an "What the fuck!" from Emmett as he clutched the back of his head. Edward just shrugged and said 'Seemed appropriate,' which made me laugh.

If I thought that he looked incredible in jeans and a long sleeved t-shirt, it was nothing compared to what he looked like in business trousers and a button-down. My girly-bits were going haywire just looking at him. I could handle this though. I was sure I could.

I could, right?

"Come on." Emmett held out a hand, pointing towards the table. I sat at the head of the table, purely because Emmett had it last time. He scowled at me and I stuck my tongue out at him. Edward laughed at our interaction and I think he knew that because we both knew him, we were being informal and slightly unprofessional. If it had been a completely impartial and new client then we would have been professional to the T, but seeing as both of us knew Edward – well Emmett had grown up with him and I had become well acquainted with his daughter during our little chat – neither of us felt the need. "Right, Eddie-boy." He grinned at Edward, earning a fairly evil scowl off of him. "I've run Bella through the basics of the case, stating that bitch-face-"

"Emmett." He sighed, running a hand through his hair.

"Just ditched you and Lizzie." Emmett continued as though his brother hadn't spoken. "And that now she's back and wants full custody."

"Is there anything else you want to inform me of, Edward?" He gave me a small smile when I used his full name and glared at Emmett again, who grinned back.

"Only that Victoria is smart." He sighed, dropping his head into his hands. "She knows what she wants and when she wants something, she won't quit until she has it. And it doesn't help that she has the slimiest lawyers in town."

"Well, we've beat them off before." I told him and he nodded at me, smiling. "Whatever they've got going for them most probably won't do them any good. I mean, she walked out three years ago, no word of warning, no forwarding address or means of contact. She didn't want anything to do with Elizabeth or you and basically disappeared. Now she's back and she wants Elizabeth. So what? Let her want her all she wants. No judge is going to see her standing there, know what happened and let her back into that child's life. The child doesn't know her and the judge will take that into consideration. Hopefully, it won't even get that far and we can bypass the whole court scenario, but I can't see it. Stanley and Wilcox will push it whatever way they can. We don't want Elizabeth involved, am I correct?" Of course I was correct, but I had to ask for appearances' sake.

"No." Edward shook his head forcefully. "I don't want my daughter anywhere near her. Elizabeth won't know what's going on. She hasn't asked me about her mother, but I know some day she will. Probably when she starts at school, which isn't that far off, but for now, I don't want Lizzie involved with anything. She might only be four, but she knows a lot more than she lets on."

"Most four year olds do." I smiled at him and he smiled back. Maybe Alice was right. Again. Damned pixie.

We talked for a while about what we were going to do if and when it came around to court. We all agreed that taking the route of protecting Lizzie was the best thing in this case. Stanley and Wilcox will argue that the little girl needs a mother in her life, but in counter for that we would argue that even though that were true, why didn't she think of that three years ago before she left? If she were truly to be a mother to Elizabeth, then she should have been one back then.

We were confident that anything they could come up with, we could block them off as a knock sounded on the door. It was confident. Strong and I knew that it was James Wilcox. Slimy bastard. I hated him.

Emmett walked over to the door, seeming to get larger with every step he took. I looked at Edward, who looked at me in the same way and we both nodded, thinking the same thing. 'Was he growing?' I looked back over as he opened the door and stepped back, letting those on the other side in.

First to enter was Jessica Stanley, resident lawyer-slash-whore. She slept with anything and everything and she wasn't ashamed to admit it, which made me feel physically ill. Why would anyone broadcast something like that anyway? She wasn't the most attractive woman I knew, the title of which went Emmett's absolutely stunning wife Rosalie. At five foot ten, with long blonde wavy hair and piercing blue eyes, Rosalie was the epitome of stunning and my self esteem took a hit every time we were in the same room. She was lovely though. A bit cold when you first meet her, but if she likes you, she warms up to you in no time. If she doesn't like you, then I have one piece of advice: run.

Jessica was neither of these things. At five foot five, she was stumpy and stodgy. Her hair was a boring, mousy brown colour and frizzed in every which way. Her eyes were hazel and lifeless. And her personality could be outshone by that of a wet mop. She was snarky and bitchy and from what I hear, didn't actually have any friends.

I saw her smile widen as soon as she saw Edward and I knew what she was thinking. Particularly because I had been thinking the same thing, but unlike her, I knew how to restrain myself. I cared about Edward, even though I had only met him once before this, I had come to genuinely care about him, whereas all she saw him as was a conquest. One she wouldn't be having. I couldn't help but smile as he manoeuvred himself behind me, partially blocking the super creepy look she was giving him. I looked up at him and he smiled at me sheepishly, shrugging. Something told me he hadn't dated much in the last three years. But then again, I think most guys would be scared of advances from Jessica Stanley. Her smile turned to a sneer as she looked at me and I tapped the file in my hand, smiling smugly at her, knowing that everything that happened in this meeting would be noted. And believe me when I say_ everything._

The next one to walk in the room was James Wilcox, Jessica's equally creepy partner. He was tall, blonde and everything I hated in a man. He was arrogant, cocky, and full of himself; he thought that every woman was in love with him and that every man should follow him as though he was the epitome of knowledge on women. And to top it all off, he smelled funny. His hair was always slicked back into a ponytail that looked like it had never been taken out or washed at all. His blue eyes were clouded and dark, not at all alluring. Not like Edward's deep emerald green.

The last person to enter was someone I had never seen before but I knew who she was immediately. I felt Edward stiffen slightly behind me as she entered the room, and I looked up at him, smiling gently, trying to reassure him that he could do this. His return smile was tight and strained, his eyes cold and steely. She was a tall and thin redhead, her hair the colour of flames flickering in the darkness. She was stunning and I knew instantly that she and Edward would have been a beautiful couple when they were together. She was pale, her blue eyes bright and her blood-red lips pulled up in a smug half-smile. She stopped next to James and Jessica and was the first to speak.

"Hello, Edward." Her voice was low and sultry. Normally, I would have thought it would cause a man to do the masculine version of a swoon, but it only caused Edward to tense even more from his spot behind me. I knew that he was incredibly uncomfortable and I could tell without even looking at him all he wanted was to get home to his little girl.

"Victoria." His voice was cold, hard and coarse. Her smile dropped slightly, obviously not having the effect that she wanted it to have. Something told me that she was expecting Edward to comply with whatever she wanted, given their past relationship. I think she had just realised that was not going to happen.

"Why doesn't everyone have a seat." Emmett gestured towards the table, not leaving any room for argument as he sat down in the seat he had been occupying across from Edward. I sat at the head of the table with Emmett on my right and Edward on my left. Not surprisingly, Jessica took the head of the other end of the table, giving me the stink eye she reserved for me and me only. Not that I cared. Not like she could do anything to me after all. James sat on her right and Victoria sat down so she could watch Edward, just as she was doing now. She was trying to make Edward squirm.

"Hey." I whispered to him, and he looked up at me. "Don't let her get to you. She's trying to psych you out. Don't let her." I managed to whisper all of that without moving my lips and he nodded slowly, taking a deep breath, a new resolve in his posture.

Right.

Here we go.

*~*~*~*~*~*

As we walked out of the building after the meeting with Jessica, James and Victoria, there seemed to be something different about Edward.

He seemed more confident and sure of himself. How he needed to be for his daughter.

"Bella." He started, looking down at the ground. _So much for confident_. I thought, smiling to myself. I wiped the smile when he looked back up, the nervousness clear in his body language and expression. "Would you like to go out with me?"

"Like, on a date?" I asked, feeling very high school at the moment.

"Yeah." He nodded, looking down nervously again before glancing back up at me.

I thought for less than a second before smiling at him. "Yes, Edward, I would love to go out with you."

The smile that lit up his face was one that could resemble Times Square on New Years' Eve. "Really?" I nodded and his smile widened, if that were possible. "Are you free tonight?"

"I am indeed." I nodded and he grinned again.

"I, um . . . I'd better go." He seemed slightly disappointed, as he did on Saturday. He lifted his hand and gently ran the backs of his fingers across my cheek, sighing. "Do you still have my number?"

"What?" I asked, completely dazed by his entrancing stare and the fact that he was touching me. "Number? From Saturday? I think I do." _Actually, I know I do._

"Well, that saves one thing then, doesn't it?" He smiled again and I literally had to restrain myself from jumping him in the middle of the street. "Would it be alright if I called you later?"

"It would be more than alright, Edward." I smiled at him and he grinned at me before slowly turning around and walking to his Volvo.

I couldn't really concentrate as the day turned into the afternoon. Emmett came in a couple of times, each leaving with a knowing smile as he left the room. More than once I threw things at him as he grinned at me.

My phone had been ringing all day because of that damned divorce settlement. I wish that the two of them would agree on _something_. Even if it was something small, I would be happier than all this back and forth shit the two of them were doing. The law firm the other half was using was not one we fought with occasionally and we had even been known to work with _Denali's_ before. Thankfully, though, the feuding couple was not affecting the friendship I had with one of the girls there, Tanya. She was as close to me as Alice was, knowing far too many incriminating stories about me, knowing full well that if any of them ever got out, she would be found six weeks later buried in my backyard. She took the threat to heat and kept everything she knew to herself, just as I did. It wasn't that I expected her to tell or anything, but hey, a girl needed a contingency plan.

My phone rang for the millionth time already today and I really contemplated pressing reject, but me being me, whacked the answer button without looking at the Caller ID.

"Bella Swan." I grumbled into the receiver.

"And a hello to you too." I heard Edward's silky voice over the phone and I sat up immediately.

"Oh, my God, I'm so sorry." I dropped my head into my hands. "It's just my phone has been going crazy today with this one particular client calling me and I-"

"You thought it was them again." He finished for me, sounding as though he understood.

"Yeah." I sighed into the phone. "But I'm so glad it's not." _Shit. Did I just say that out loud?_

"Really?" He asked, sounding surprised. _Yes, I fucking did. Ah!_

"Yeah." I admitted, cringing a little bit at what I was about to say. "I'd much rather talk to you."

He was silent for a moment, probably wondering how quickly he could get me off the phone. "I'll always be here for you to talk to, Bella." He replied in soft tones that literally made me swoon. Not only was this guy beautiful, a loving father, single but he knew exactly what to say and when to say it. Was there anything about this guy that wasn't incredibly irresistible? "Um, about tonight." _Here it comes._ "I was wondering, instead of going out, would you mind if we stayed in? I was thinking I could cook for us . . ." _Fucking A! He could cook too?! There is nothing this guy can't do, is there? Personal mission, find something Edward Cullen sucks at._ "That's not a problem, is it?"

"Of course not." I replied, grinning down the phone. "What time should I come over?" I asked, finding a pen and clean piece of paper that I could write his address down at. If it had writing or something on it, it generally meant that it was important or some shit.

"Nope." He said shortly, a smug tone to his voice.

"Huh?" I so eloquently replied.

"You're not driving to my house." He replied with that same smug tone. "I'm picking you up."

"What's the point in that?" I asked, throwing my pen on the desk in front of me and leaning back in my chair. "What's the point of you leaving your house to come and pick me up, just to go back to your house again? I thought you were smart."

"Bella." His tone took on a light pleading sound to it. "This . . . this will be my first date in over six years. Even if we're not going out out I want to do this right. Please?"

"Alright." I sighed, knowing I wouldn't be able to refuse him. I gave him my address and he told me that he would be around at about seven to pick me up, which gave me two hours to get ready. Totally doable. And I would not be involving Alice seeing as she would be at her lil' lovers house tonight. He had been away on duty with the army for the last six months and she'd missed him like hell.

She would be leaving around the same time Edward would be arriving so I knew that I had to slip out quickly before she scared him away. The doorbell rang at exactly seven o'clock and checking myself in the mirror once more, I bolted out of the room as fast as my heels would allow, thanking whatever gods it was that took away my clumsiness with my teenage years.

I ran passed Alice's room as she was about to get the door, leaving her standing there confused.

"He's not married." I called back up the stairs before yanking the door open to find a grinning Edward standing there. I heard a faint 'Told you so' from upstairs, but I didn't care. She could gloat all she wanted, but I was just happy that he was there.

"Hi." I greeted him, completely breathless from a) running down the stairs and b) seeing him standing there.

"Hi." He replied in the same way. What could have him breathless? I didn't dwell on it. "You look beautiful."

"Thank you." I could feel the blush making its way up my cheek, but thankfully, it was dark as I closed the door behind me and he took my arm, steadying me as we walked down the few steps and down the driveway to his car. I had been fine before, but now I was intoxicated. Intoxicated on Edward.

He opened the door for me and I, actually, rather gracefully slid my way into the car, thanking him as I did so. It might have been in a cheesy English accent but he laughed and replied in one just as corny.

The drive to his house was short and I found myself looking at a very beautiful white house. It was fairly modern with large windows that must have allowed immense amounts of light into the house.

He took my hand and led me up to the house which I will admit I was staring wide-eyed at as we approached.

As he opened the door, I noticed that even though it was simplistic and modern on the outside, the interior screamed 'family space'. It was clear that at least one child lived here. Though I knew that it was just the one. The colours were soft and gentle, everything childproofed and friendly.

"I'll just go and get dinner ready. Would you like some wine?" He asked, slipping my light jacket off of my shoulders and hanging it on the stand behind him, followed by his own.

"Yes, please." I smiled at him, earning a grin back as he made his way into the kitchen. "Where's Lizzie tonight?" I assumed she wasn't here, because that would be a little weird.

"She's with my parents." He replied, coming back into the room with two large glasses of white wine.

"Why, Mr. Cullen," I mused, smiling at him as I took the glass he handed to me. "It would appear that you are trying to get me drunk."

"How'd you figure it out?" He asked, his tone light and joking, though something in his eyes told me that maybe light talking and banter wasn't going to be enough for him. Well, my ovaries aren't really going to be complaining Mr. Cullen. If you want some fun, let's have some. He slowly lifted a hand, gently brushing my hair over my shoulder, the backs of his fingers gently tracing over the skin on my neck, coming to rest there softly, tenderly. "You really are beautiful." He mumbled, almost to himself. If he hadn't been looking me straight in the eye when he said it, I would have thought that he had said it to himself.

"Thank you." I whispered and he smiled.

He stepped towards me, setting his wine down on the table beside us. It was clear that the table was used for the mail and keys and shit like that, but this time, wine glasses went on their quite nicely. He placed both of his hands either side of my face, the tips of his fingers grazing my hairline, gently lifting it away from my scalp. He was so close that I could smell him, a mixture of vanilla, lavender and a slight minty scent from his breath. He smelled divine. His gaze flickered from my eyes to my lips briefly, more than a couple of times and I gave him a nod, setting my glass down next to his just before he closed the distance between us, pressing his lips to mine.

Dear Whatever-God-or higher-being-there-is-out-there-that-created-Edward-Cullen.

_Thank you._

Love Bella.

His lips were so soft, like silk underneath my own, moving in complete synchronicity with my own. And if I thought that were enough, he stepped towards me so that our bodies were pressed together and gently flicked his tongue out against my lips, encouraging me to allow him in. I did and _Oh fucksticles_, he tasted _incredible_.

Suddenly the timer went off and he pulled back slightly, moaning a little at the intrusion. I knew how into that he had been – hell, it was pressed against my stomach right now – and I could say that I was as pissed as he was that dinner was ready.

"Shall we eat?" He asked, his voice unintentionally seductive. I couldn't really speak, so I nodded and he pulled back, taking my hand in his, picking up my glass of wine and handing it to me before taking his own and leading me into the kitchen. "I don't really have anywhere formal to eat so . . ."

"In here's fine, Edward." I smiled at him, which seemed to set him at ease. He led me over to the island in the middle of the kitchen, which already had cutlery set out and the wine Edward had opened chilling in a bucket in the centre, pulling out one of the high backed chairs and helping me into the seat before making his way over to the oven, grabbing a t-towel and pulling out a long dish. He served up two plates of the dish and made his way back over to me, smiling.

"I hope you like mushroom ravioli." He smiled sheepishly and I couldn't help the huge grin that spread across my face.

"It's one of my favourites." I admitted truthfully. I looked down at it, noting that it looked and smelled delicious.

"I hope you like it." I grinned at him, noting he was waiting for me to try it, being quite nervous about it as well, before spearing a piece of ravioli and popping it in my mouth. An involuntary moan left my throat as I tasted the morsel. It was incredible. Scratch cooking off the list of things Edward can do. He was a fucking ace! "This is . . . I just . . . No words. Really, no words."

"Is that a good thing?" He asked, shifting slightly in his seat.

"That is a _very_ good thing." I smiled at him and he gave me a sheepish grin and a small blush in return.

There wasn't really much talking as we ate, occasionally swapping little stories of things that had happened to us during college or high school or whatever. It was a fun evening and although nothing other than that awesome kiss at the beginning of the night and one that was equally as mind-blowing when he dropped me off, nothing really happened. I was glad about that, because I knew that Edward was still reeling from his ex-wife's reappearance and needed time to adjust to that.

I could wait.

I hoped.

*~*~*~*~*~*

Over the next few weeks, Edward and I became closer in business and out of it. The case we were working on together seemed to be going our way and it appeared like we were freezing Victoria out, diverting every excuse and offer she had and cutting it off at the roots. We were doing well and hopefully Emmett's appearance with Edward at the courthouse today should seal the deal in our favour.

I hadn't been able to go because I had a meeting with the divorce settlement case I was still working on. Thankfully, it seemed to be getting somewhere now and they had decided that neither of them really needed the big house anymore, seeing as they weren't with anyone and it would be sold, the money being split equally down the middle. We still had to go through what would be done with their three shared accounts and how those would be split. It was a tiring case, but it was getting me a lot of money, so I wasn't complaining.

Things with Edward and I couldn't have been going better. We had officially started dating a week after the dinner at his house, though we were keeping it on the down low until after the case, because we didn't want Jessica or James getting wind of it. If they did then they would no doubt bring it up in court and while it wasn't against the law to represent a spouse or family member, it was seriously frowned upon as the lawyer is seen as being too objective and involved. So far, so good anyway. After today, we could yell it out loud from as many rooftops as we could find and no one would give a damn.

We hadn't slept together yet, but again, that was a good thing. The whole Victoria thing was getting him worked up and although we had been able to 'relieve each other's tension' if you get my meaning – what the hell am I talking about, the pens in my bag know what I'm talking about – it wasn't the right time and it was too soon for the both of us. When it felt right, it would happen. But we weren't going to force the issue.

Elizabeth seemed over the moon that the two of us were together. She said that she wanted me and her Daddy to date because we looked cute together and if – or in her words 'when' – we got married we could be a real family. Neither Edward or I had the heart to tell her that it was a little early to be thinking about marriage. Her little four year old brain wouldn't be able to process it.

I was now waiting outside the courtroom, waiting for Emmett and Edward to be finished inside so we could get home. I had been spending more and more time at Edward's than my own home over recent weeks and I was starting to think of it as my home. Well, second home.

"Bella!" I heard a jovial shout from the top of the steps and saw him running down as I turned around. "We did it, love." I loved hearing him call me that.

"The judge granted Edward full custody and that visitation is to be at his discretion. If he doesn't want her near Lizzie, she's not going to get anywhere near her." Emmett grinned at the two of us, looking around for Rosalie who said that she would be meeting him after the hearing.

"Congratulations." I threw my arms around his neck, breathing him in as he did the same to me. "You deserve this, baby. You deserve it all."

"Thank you." He whispered, holding me tightly as we heard a throat clear behind us. Edward released one arm, but kept the other firmly around my waist, pulling me into him as we both took in the sight of his ex-wife standing there, fuming at the two of us.

"You think that you've won, don't you, Edward?" She smiled sweetly at him, but whereas over the last couple of weeks, he had stiffened and become tense whenever she was in the vicinity, today he was as relaxed as anything and her presence didn't seem to have the same effect that it had done.

"Actually, Victoria, yes I do." He nodded, sounding pleased with himself. I couldn't help but smile. I was pleased for him too. And I wasn't going to hold that in at all. "You heard the judge. I have complete custody over Elizabeth. I don't want you anywhere near her. Ever. You gave up the right to see her, to call her your daughter when you walked out on us. She doesn't know you, Victoria. What makes you think that she'll ever want to know you?"

"Children are easy to convince." She replied her face blank of all emotion.

Edward let out a laugh that seemed to piss her off. "If you think that then you really don't know my daughter."

"_Our_ daughter." She corrected him.

"No." He shook his head, determined not to let her get to him. This is what he had been building up to for the last few weeks and I knew that he wasn't going to let the opportunity escape him now. "She is _my_ daughter. _Mine_. The sooner you understand that, the better off everyone will be. Stay the fuck away from us, Victoria. Or you'll find yourself in a cell."

With that he turned around, taking me with him, walking swiftly over to where he had parked his Volvo earlier on in the day. He opened the door for me, and I climbed in and waited for him to get in the other side. He started the engine and made his way out onto the street, his hands gripping the steering wheel tightly as he turned onto the next street.

"Edward, stop the car." I said quietly. But he heard me. He sighed and threw on the indicator telling those around us that he was pulling over, not that it was really needed. The road we were down was completely deserted. In fact it didn't look like anyone had been down here in months.

As soon as the engine was off, I threw my arms around him pulling him to me. Clearly shocked at my strange behaviour he tentatively wrapped his arms around me, pulling me close to him.

"I'm so proud of you." I whispered in his ear and he buried his head in my hair, understanding my sudden burst of energy as I'd hugged him. "You'd wanted to do that for years and you've finally got it out. You've got your baby girl. You've got everything you've ever wanted Edward."

"Not everything." He whispered in my ear and I pulled back, confused. "There's one more thing I want in life."

"What?" I asked, my fingers running through his hair gently. His eyes closed slowly as he sighed and opened them again, his gaze piercing right through into my soul. Or at least, that was what it felt like.

"You." He whispered, softly. Seductively.

"You have me." I replied and he shook his head.

"I don't have _all_ of you." He pressed a kiss just behind my ear, gently trailing kisses down my throat and down to my collarbone, nibbling and sucking as he went. "Not yet."

Before I knew what he was doing, he'd pushed his chair back as far as it would go, grabbed me around the waist and I was straddling his lap.

"Are you sure?" I asked him, gazing down at his hooded lust filled eyes and his nose skimmed up and down my shirt, running up and down the edge of my bra.

"I've never wanted anything more than I want to be inside of you right now." He whispered and I think I just came. My ovaries were going into overdrive, that's for sure.

"But . . . here?" I clarified and he smirked at me, shaking his head.

"Of course not, there's not enough space in here." I let out a breath, knowing that he would probably regret it if we did anything in the car. He ran his nose up through the valley in between my breasts, up my throat before coming to rest next to my ear. "There's not enough space _in_ the car, which is why I'm going to take you . . . _on_ the car."

_Holy fuck-a-duck!_

I looked down at him and saw that he was deadly serious as he opened the door, and climbed out, me still straddling him, having to wrap my legs around his waist as he stood up.

"What about . . . people?" I asked him, breathless. I mean, it was the middle of the day after all and in public. What the fuck would happen should we be found?

"No one ever comes down here, Bella." He whispered, walking around to the front of the car, laying me down on the hood.

"Are you sure?" I asked, still not believing him one hundred per cent.

"Most definitely." He replied, settling me down on the hood of his beloved Volvo.

He pressed his lips to mine and I wasn't going to argue. I tightened my grip with my legs and pulled him closer to me, a moan escaping me when his hardness hit right where I needed it to, clearly evident through the black dress pants he had been wearing for court. The fact that I was wearing a skirt and my ass was probably on show to the entire world was not lost on me either. But I figured I was never going to get the chance to have the beautiful man known as Edward Cullen to fuck me on the hood of his Volvo again, so I would make the fucking most of it.

His hand slid up my thigh, underneath my skirt and he groaned when he felt the underwear I was wearing.

"Fucking ruffled?" He moaned and I nodded, smirking because I knew he liked these ones. Hell, he tried to hide them so he could keep them the last time I was at his house. Without Lizzie there, of course. No way we were that irresponsible.

His fingers hooked under the waistband of my panties and he pulled them down excruciatingly slowly before pulling them down my legs and over my shoes. I didn't fail to notice how he stuffed them in his pocket once he had them off, either. I raised an eyebrow at him, but him being Edward Cullen, got away with it.

I pressed my lips to his, harsher than before, needing him inside me. Now. "Screw the foreplay."

"I was going to." He moaned back as my hand slid down and popped open the button on his dress pants and pulling the zipper down. Don't ask me how I did it, and I'm amazed myself, but I actually managed to hook the heels of my shoes into the waistband of his pants _and_ his boxers and pull them down. He raised an eyebrow at me, silently asking where I learned to do that and I just shrugged, smirking at him before pulling him down and claiming his mouth once again. We both moaned as his marble cock came into contact with my hot centre.

He pulled back slightly, slightly asking for permission and I nodded once, whilst bucking my hips and tightening my hold around his waist. We weren't worried about protection as he knew that I was on the Pill and we were both clean. We had already had the pre-sex talk about three weeks ago, so we were well educated on each other in that area. It was awkward to say the least, but we both knew it was necessary. He took the message and gently eased himself into me.

I cried out as he filled me, moaning in pleasure at the delicious friction that it caused. He stilled once he was completely sheathed within me, the look of concentration telling me completely how hard he was fighting to stay in control. I pressed a soft kiss to his lips, shifting my hips slightly, indicating that he could move and he opened his eyes slowly, focusing on me as he started to move within me, pulling out almost completely before slamming back into me. It was primal. It was raw. And it was the best fucking sex I had ever had.

I was aware of the animalistic sounds coming out of me with every thrust, movement, breath, but I wasn't able to stop them from occurring. I would have been embarrassed about that, but it seemed Edward was having the same problem. All I knew at the moment was him. It was just me and him and the hood of his Volvo. There was nothing else around. And even if there was, I didn't care. None of it mattered to me. All I wanted, all I needed, was Edward.

I felt myself nearing the edge as Edward's movements became less rhythmic, shorter and faster. He was close, I told myself, looking into his eyes as I had been through the whole experience. He leaned down placing his lips close to my ear as his hand moved away from the hood of the Volvo and down my stomach, nearing where we were joined.

"Come for me, love." He whispered in my ear before moving lower, running his nose down my throat and nudging my shirt out of the way. "Come for me." He whispered again before biting down on one hardened nipple.

It was that which made me come undone. My back arched off the hook of the car, pressing myself into him and my breast further into his mouth as I hit the biggest high of my life. His movements above me stopped and he stilled, quivering above me as he hit his own personal high.

We both sagged, completely spent as we both came down from our highs together, smiling at each other, pressing gentle kisses here and there and whispered sentiments. Neither of us was ready for the big 'I love you' yet, but I could certainly feel it coming soon.

I let out a small whimper as he slid out of me, pressing a kiss to my forehead.

"As much as I would like to spend the rest of my fucking life buried inside of you like that, we need to get home." He held out a hand after he had tidied himself up. I hopped off the car, pulled down my skirt and held out my hand. "What?" He asked, feigning innocence.

"My panties, Mr. Cullen." I said patiently, still holding my hand out, waiting for them.

"Not a chance." He smirked at me, knowing exactly what that did to me.

"Excuse me?!" I gasped, my hand dropping down to my side. "What did you just say?"

"You're not getting these back." He stepped towards me, placing a hand on either side of me, close enough, so that I couldn't move my arms to sneak them back out of his pocket. "You tease me with them, and now you have to pay for that."

"You're evil." I retorted and he nodded, pressing his lips to mine.

I pulled away, hearing a noise I really didn't care for. I looked over his shoulder to see a car passing. A car with a full family inside. Mom, Dad, kids and I think I even saw a dog in there as well. I looked up at Edward who had an innocent look on his face and I knew that mine was one of disbelief and shock.

"I thought you said no one ever fucking came up here."

He looked at me smirking and shrugged.

"I was wrong."

_Yeah right, buddy. You knew all along there was a chance of getting caught. Seems you've got a side to you I hadn't noticed before. Might have to test that out in future._

"Oh, and Bella." He called over the top of the car. "Correct me if I'm wrong, but, didn't you just come up here?" He said the whole thing with a smirk before he climbed into the car.

Fucking jammy bastard.


End file.
